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Draft amendment to the Law on Free Access to Information introduces unjustified exceptions

We urge that all intelligence and security data not be exempt from the application of the Law on Free Access to Information, as well as that the provisions according to which former public officials are not subject to exceptions to privacy protection and tax secret protection be reinstated.

Draft Law on Free Access to Information established by the Government on March 7, 2023 contains important negative differences compared to the previous draft, which was withdrawn from the parliamentary procedure upon forming of the 43rd Government. Namely, the draft exempts from the application of the Law an information that represents intelligence and security data that is collected, processed, used, exchanged, stored and protected in accordance with the laws that regulate the work of the bodies that make up the intelligence and security sector.

In addition, all persons that had a status of a public official since the introduction of the legally prescribed obligation to submit reports on income and property in connection with the exercise of public office, as well as income, property and conflict of interest of those persons or persons related to them, regardless of whether they are members of a joint household, are exempt from restriction of access to information due to the protection of personal data and the protection of tax secrecy. Previous version of the Law contained this provision which is now replaced in a manner that restrictions to the access to information do not refer only to current public official and persons for whom public officials are due to submit report on income and property.

These provisions can significantly foil some positive novelties in the draft Law, which relate to a greater volume of proactive publishing of information, especially those concerning the budget implementation, the obligation to create a catalogue of authorities – reporting entities to the Law, and a number of other decisions that are product of the efforts of civil society organizations, which submit the largest number of requests for free access to information.

Absolute exemption of the intelligence and security sector data from the application of the Law has no justified basis, especially considering that in the second article, the possibility is left for an authority to restrict access to information or part thereof, “after carrying out the harm test and public interest test, if it is in the interest of security , defence, foreign, monetary and economic policy of Montenegro, which is marked with the appropriate level of secrecy in accordance with the laws regulating the field of data secrecy”.

We also remind the Government that the public debate on the draft amendments to the Law on Free Access to Information, established by the 42nd Government of Zdravko Krivokapić, was held in June 2021, thus, nearly two years ago. In the meantime, the Government did not submit the revised draft for public consultation, and it did not offer an explanation why these important amendments, which the European Commission insists on, were “on hold” for so long, and according to the earlier version of the draft law, their implementation was supposed to start in January 2023. According to the new draft law, its implementation will begin six months after its entry into force, which further extends the deadlines.

For this reason, we urge the Government to abolish important negative differences compared to the previous draft law, which was withdrawn from the parliamentary procedure, and which to a greater extent acknowledged the arguments of NGOs that took part in the previously held public debate.

Stevo Muk
President of the Managing Board of Institute Alternative

Vanja Ćalović Marković
Director of the Network for Affirmation of NGO Sector

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Potentials of Early Integration of Montenegro Into the EU Gender Equality Framework

The European Commission created a revised methodology that provides Montenegro with a window for early or accelerated integration that implies gradual introduction to individual policies of the European Union, European Union markets, and its programmes. This model is accompanied with the provision of increased funding through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, in order to provide more intensive support in the accession process.

Early integration into the structures of the European Union is currently most visible in areas where we share common challenges, such as the fight against organised crime or border management. However, it is important for citizens that not only problems, but also benefits are the subject of early integration of Montenegro into the EU. Bearing the above in mind, this analysis focuses on the potential of early integration of Montenegro into the institutional framework for gender equality and gender mainstreaming of the European Union, with the aim of mapping institutions and programmes that Montenegro could take part in during the accession process.

In the analysis, we mapped nearly 20 expert and advisory bodies, as well as programmes at the EU level, in which Montenegro can express its interest to participate. For the purposes of this paper, we define early integration as the country’s potential to access the institutions, networks and working groups of the European Union for gender equality in the capacity of an observer or a full member, and to use the existing programmes to the full extent possible, even in the pre-accession period, i.e. before conventional membership.

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Neither a Client, Nor a Patron! For greater resilience to political clientelism and corruption in the area of public sector employment

Public sector employment is a normatively neglected area, which led to the fact that various forms of non-competitive, non-merit-based employment became the rule, rather than the exception. Even in sub-sectors that were subject to greater scrutiny by the European Commission and civil society, the rules are so loose and the conditions so low, that there are no guarantees at all that people who possess the necessary knowledge and skills in the given field would be employed.

The rare exceptions, i.e. cases where we saw fulfilment of basic prerequisites for preventing undue influence, are not sufficient for meaningful progress in this area, which is much needed and which the European Union constantly underlines.

Even if some type of testing exists, there is no obligation to select the best-ranked candidates, which calls into question the appropriateness of the procedures that precede the final decision on recruitment. The obligation to publicly advertise jobs in a public enterprise, public institution and other public services is defined with numerous exceptions, including extension of employment contracts and referral of employees. Given that mandatory duration of the public advertisement is only three days for public institutions, public enterprises and certain agencies, this is definitely not a guarantee of competitiveness.

Read more in our publication, while detailed findings are available at our Map of risks of corruption and undue interference in public sector recruitment, available here.

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WeBER 3.0 has officially begun

Western Balkan Enablers for Reforming Public Administrations – WeBER 3.0 project has begun on 1 February 2023 and will run until 31 July 2026. The Think for Europe – TEN Network (European Policy Institute – EPI Skopje, Institute for Democracy and Mediation – IDM Tirana, Insititute Alternative – IA Podgorica, Group for Legal and Political Studies – GLPS Pristina, Foreign Policy Initiative – FPI Sarajevo) coordinated by the European Policy Centre – CEP Belgrade, and in partnership with the EU-level partner, Centre for Public Administration Research – KDZ from Vienna, will continue to contribute to strengthening of participatory democracy by enabling effective participation of civil society organisations (CSOs) from the Western Balkans (WB) and supporting inclusive citizens’ engagement in monitoring the results of public administration reform (PAR) processes at all levels, in line with the EU requirements (SIGMA/OECD Principles).

WeBER 3.0 will continue to feature the crucial role of civil society in building healthy democracies through empowering CSOs to become reliable partner to governments in the EU accession process. By ensuring continuity in assessment of the progress of the reforms carried out by local civil society actors, WeBER 3.0 and its cornerstone product, the Western Balkan PAR Monitor, will continue to guide the governments in the region towards successful EU accession and membership. CSOs equipped with evidence and knowledge take up central place in the region’s EU path and ensure that the governments do not exercise reform processes to only qualify for the EU membership, but to improve the citizens’ lives.

The project will also contribute to overall regional cooperation by facilitating the CSOs-government dialogue at regional, national and local level, relying on the established WeBER Platform, which will be further enhanced by including the business community representatives.

The main international partners during the WeBER 3.0 will remain SIGMA/OECD and Regional School for Public Administration (ReSPA). Also, the main institutions (ministries/offices) in charge of coordination of PAR in each country will continue to perform the role of the project associates in the third phase of the initiative as well.

The overall objective of the WeBER 3.0 is to to further empower CSOs to contribute to more transparent, open, accountable, citizen-centric, and thus more EU-compliant administrations in the WB region.

The implementation of the third phase of the WeBER initiative is, as has been the case with the previous two (WeBER 2015 – 2018 & WeBER 2.0 2019 – 2023), principally financed by the European Commission.

Find more information on www.par-monitor.org

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Workshop on Staged Accession Model to the EU

A two-day workshop that brought together partners and experts from the region and Brussels was held this week, 30-31 January, in Belgrade, organised by European Policy Center (CEP).

Representatives of the Institute Alternative, Milena Muk and Dragana Jaćimović, participated in the two-day workshop whose purpose was to discuss the policy papers produced within the initiative on the further development of the Staged accession model. 

The workshop’s main objective was to further develop the Staged accession model using the perspectives of all project partners. For this purpose, drafts of national papers on the application of the model in each of the countries of the Western Balkans were presented and discussed at the workshop.

The workshop additionally enabled experts to get to know each other personally, present their ideas and discuss various topics, with the aim of further improving national papers. During breakout sessions, topics of special interest to all countries of the region were covered.

This Initiative is implemented by the Institute Alternative, together with European Policy Center (CEP) from Belgrade, Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), Brussels, Foreign Policy Initiative, Sarajevo and European Policy Institute (EPI) from Skopje, with the support of Open Society Foundation (OSF).

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Potentials of Early Integration of Montenegro Into the EU Gender Equality Framework

The European Commission created a revised methodology that provides Montenegro with a window for early or accelerated integration that implies gradual introduction to individual policies of the European Union, European Union markets, and its programmes. This model is accompanied with the provision of increased funding through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, in order to provide more intensive support in the accession process.

Early integration into the structures of the European Union is currently most visible in areas where we share common challenges, such as the fight against organised crime or border management. However, it is important for citizens that not only problems, but also benefits are the subject of early integration of Montenegro into the EU. Bearing the above in mind, this analysis focuses on the potential of early integration of Montenegro into the institutional framework for gender equality and gender mainstreaming of the European Union, with the aim of mapping institutions and programmes that Montenegro could take part in during the accession process.

In the analysis, we mapped nearly 20 expert and advisory bodies, as well as programmes at the EU level, in which Montenegro can express its interest to participate. For the purposes of this paper, we define early integration as the country’s potential to access the institutions, networks and working groups of the European Union for gender equality in the capacity of an observer or a full member, and to use the existing programmes to the full extent possible, even in the pre-accession period, i.e. before conventional membership.